When does the EIN confirmation letter arrive after you apply?
The CP-575 downloads at the end of an online application, inside the same 15-minute session. A faxed Form SS-4 returns it in days to weeks. A mailed Form SS-4 returns it in 4 weeks.
The letter is not a separate request. The IRS produces it the moment it assigns the EIN, so the arrival time of the letter is the processing time of the application. Choosing the filing method chooses the wait.
| Filing method | EIN assigned | CP-575 reaches you | SSN required | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRS online assistant | 15 minutes | PDF on the final screen | Yes | $0 |
| IRS fax, Form SS-4 | Days to weeks | Posted to line 4a | No | $0 |
| IRS mail, Form SS-4 | 4 weeks | Posted to line 4a | No | $0 |
| IRS international phone | One call | Posted to line 4a | No | $0 |
| einnumber.co Standard | 12–14 business days | EIN and CP-575 sent to you | No | $67 |
| einnumber.co Fast | Under a week | EIN and CP-575 sent to you | No | $97 |
Source: IRS Form SS-4 instructions, verified July 2026. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding US federal holidays.
The IRS online assistant runs Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, and the session closes after 15 minutes of inactivity. That final screen holds the only copy of the PDF the tool will ever show you. Save it before you close the tab.
For a full breakdown of every waiting period by route, read how long does it take to get an ein.
Where does the IRS send the EIN confirmation letter?
The IRS mails the CP-575 to the address entered on lines 4a and 4b of Form SS-4. The IRS accepts a foreign mailing address on both lines. Line 3 adds a care-of name that redirects the envelope.
Two address blocks sit on Form SS-4 and they do different jobs. Lines 4a and 4b are the mailing address, and that is the block the letter follows. Lines 5a and 5b are the physical street address, they accept no P.O. box, and they never decide delivery. Applicants with no US office leave lines 5a and 5b blank.
Line 4b takes the city, state and ZIP for a US address. A foreign applicant enters the city, the province and the postal code in the same 3 fields, then names the country underneath. The IRS posts internationally from that entry without a US intermediary.
Line 3 is the quiet field that decides who opens the envelope. An estate names the executor there, a trust names the trustee, and a company that uses a registered agent names the agent. A company leaves line 3 blank when the mail goes straight to it.
What is printed on the EIN confirmation letter?
The CP-575 prints the 9-digit EIN, the legal name from line 1, the mailing address from lines 4a and 4b, the federal forms the entity must file, and the date the IRS assigned the number.
Nothing on the CP-575 is written by the IRS from scratch. Every field is a reprint of something you entered on Form SS-4, which is why the letter is also a receipt for the accuracy of your application. The map below traces each printed field back to its numbered line.
| Field on the CP-575 | Where it came from | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|
| Employer Identification Number | Assigned by the IRS, 9 digits in a 2-digit and 7-digit split | The bank keys all 9 digits into its verification screen |
| Legal name of the entity | Form SS-4, line 1 | Matched character for character against the state formation document |
| Trade name or DBA | Form SS-4, line 2 | Prints only when line 2 differs from line 1 |
| Care-of name | Form SS-4, line 3 | Decides whose name sits above the address on the envelope |
| Mailing address | Form SS-4, lines 4a and 4b | The exact address the paper CP-575 is posted to |
| Date the EIN was assigned | The date the IRS processed the application | Proves the account existed before the first tax filing |
| Forms the entity must file | Form SS-4, lines 9a, 13, 15 and 16 | Sets which federal returns the IRS expects from the EIN |
| Accounting period | Form SS-4, line 12 | Fixes the closing month of the entity's tax year |
Source: IRS Form SS-4 and CP-575 notice, verified July 2026.
The EIN itself prints as 2 digits, a hyphen, then 7 digits. The 2-digit prefix records which IRS campus assigned the number, and it carries no meaning for a bank. All 9 digits go into the verification screen, hyphen included or stripped, and both formats describe the same account.
The CP-575 also lists the returns tied to the EIN. Those lines come from what you answered about employees on line 13, about wages on line 15, and about entity type on line 9a. An entity that entered 0 across all 3 boxes of line 13 sees no payroll return listed.
Every one of these fields is decided before you file, on the Form SS-4 checklist. The letter has no edit step.
How do you check the EIN confirmation letter for errors?
Read the CP-575 against your state formation document, character for character. Check the legal name, the address, the listed forms, and all 9 digits of the EIN. A mismatch stops a bank account months later.
Do the check on the day the letter arrives. This is the cheapest moment in the entire process to catch a problem, because every later discovery happens inside somebody else's verification queue.
All 9 digits of the EIN. Read the number twice. A single transposed digit routes your tax filings to another account.
The legal name against the state approval. LLC and L.L.C. read as 2 different entities. Comma placement and a middle initial count the same way.
The mailing address against lines 4a and 4b. A wrong address here follows the EIN onto every future IRS notice, not just this letter.
The listed federal forms. A payroll return listed for an entity with 0 employees points at a wrong answer on line 13 or line 15.
The accounting period month. Line 12 sets the closing month. December aligns the entity with the standard US tax year.
The assignment date. The date on the letter has to fall after the state approval date you entered on line 11.
A wrong legal name is corrected by writing to the IRS with the state document attached, and the EIN stays the same 9 digits. A wrong entity structure is a different problem: a new entity needs a new EIN, and 2 EINs on one company create 2 tax accounts.
What do banks check on the EIN confirmation letter?
Banks match 3 things: the 9-digit EIN, the legal name, and the address. The name on the CP-575 has to equal the name on the state formation document, character for character, including LLC or L.L.C.
Mercury, Wise, Relay, Stripe, PayPal and Amazon each request the CP-575 during business verification. That is 6 platforms reading the same line 1 of your Form SS-4, and a name entered carelessly on the day you filed fails all 6 at once.
Verification teams compare 3 documents side by side: the state formation certificate, the CP-575, and the operating agreement or bylaws. The EIN on the letter is the join between the first 2. When the names on those documents differ by one character, the file goes to manual review and the account waits.
Marketplace sellers hit this check earliest, because payout accounts open before the first shipment. See the marketplace-specific path on ein for amazon.
What can you do before the EIN confirmation letter arrives?
The 9-digit EIN works the moment the IRS assigns it. You file federal forms, sign contracts, and complete state registrations with the number alone. Bank accounts and payment platforms wait for the CP-575 document itself.
The number and the letter are 2 different assets, and confusing them costs weeks. Plan the tasks below around which asset each one needs.
| Task | Needs the 9-digit number | Needs the CP-575 document |
|---|---|---|
| Open a US business bank account | Yes | Yes |
| Verify a Stripe or PayPal account | Yes | Yes |
| Register as an Amazon seller | Yes | Yes |
| File a federal tax return | Yes | No |
| Sign a supplier or client contract | Yes | No |
| Complete a Form W-9 for a customer | Yes | No |
| Register for a state sales tax permit | Yes | No |
| Run payroll for the first employee | Yes | No |
Source: IRS guidance on EIN use, verified July 2026. Platform requirements reflect published business verification steps.
Deciding whether the entity needs an EIN at all comes first. That question is answered situation by situation on do i need an ein.
What do you do when the EIN confirmation letter never arrives?
Request a 147C letter from the IRS. The IRS issues 1 CP-575 per EIN and never reprints it. The 147C carries the same 9-digit EIN and the same legal name, costs $0, and banks accept it.
Non-arrival has 3 ordinary causes, and each has a different fix. A wrong entry on line 4a sent the envelope to an address you do not read. International post lost or delayed it. Or the application itself was rejected, and the IRS reports a rejection by mail rather than by email, which reads exactly like silence for weeks.
Start by confirming the EIN exists. International applicants reach the IRS on 267-941-1099 and ask whether a number was assigned to the entity name. When the answer is yes, request the 147C on the same call. When the answer is no, the application never completed and the form goes back to the fax line.
The 147C is the working replacement for every purpose that asks for a confirmation letter. It is printed on IRS letterhead, it names the entity, it states the EIN, and the IRS charges $0 to send it.
How do you get the EIN confirmation letter without an SSN?
Enter the word Foreign on line 7b of Form SS-4 and fax it to 855-641-6935, or to 855-215-1627 from outside the United States. The IRS mails the CP-575 to the address on lines 4a and 4b.
| Channel | Number | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| IRS fax, US-based entity | 855-641-6935 | The entity has a US business address |
| IRS fax, international | 855-215-1627 | The entity has no US business address |
| IRS international phone line | 267-941-1099 | International applicants calling the IRS directly |
Source: IRS, verified July 2026.
Two facts settle the questions that follow. Line 7b asks for no Social Security Number, and Form SS-4 asks for no identity document at all. One word on line 7b moves the application from the online tool to the fax line, and the letter that comes back is the same CP-575 an SSN holder downloads.
The fax route carries no tracking number and no online status page, which is why the letter arriving is the first hard signal that the filing worked. A founder's full path from application to letter is walked through on get ein from india, and the complete no-SSN procedure sits on apply for an EIN without an SSN.
What does the EIN confirmation letter cost?
The CP-575 costs $0. The IRS charges nothing for the EIN, nothing for the letter, and nothing for a 147C replacement. An EIN costs $0 in year 2 and every year after, because an EIN never renews.
| Filed by | Price | Filing guarantee in writing | Year 2+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yourself, direct to the IRS | $0 | Not stated | $0 |
| einnumber.co Standard | $67 | Filed by fax within 5 business days or the filing is free | $0 |
| einnumber.co Fast | $97 | Filed and the IRS call made within 24 hours, guaranteed — or the filing is free | $0 |
| Northwest | $200 | Not stated | $0 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | Not stated | $0 |
| Rocket Lawyer | $59.99 | Not stated | $0 |
Competitor prices verified July 2026. Northwest reflects the no-SSN rate.
Read this before paying anyone, including us. Holding an SSN means the IRS assigns your EIN and shows the CP-575 at irs.gov in 15 minutes for $0. The $67 exists for the applicants the online tool blocks: a paper form, a fax line with no tracking, and 18 fields that decide what the letter prints.
See the full price breakdown on the how much does an EIN cost page, read the honest free route on the free EIN number page, or get started now.